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H. SARGE NT.

" Soap Cutter.

No. 79,402. Patented June 30, 1868.

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Letters Patent No. 79,402, dated June 30 1868.

IMPROVED MACHINE FOR CUTTING SOAP.

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TO ALL' WHOM ;IT MAY vCONCERlI:

Be it known that I, HORACE SARGENT, of Chelsea, in the county ofSuffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement inCutting Soap into Bars; and I do hereby declare that the. following,taken-in connection with the drawings which accompany and form part ofthis specification, is a description of my invention suflicient toenable those skilled in the art to practise it.

My invention has reference to the forming of soap into bars, after ithas been run or moulded into boxes.

Soap is generally divided into bars by first allowing it to, solidify inthe frames, then removing it, and marking it off with a scribe, and thenwiring it, the cubical block of soap being set upon a table, and a wire,with a handle at each end, being drawn through it, (guided by themarks,) first cutting it into slabs, and then, by wiring in the oppositedirection, subdividing the slabs into bars.

There has also been used for cutting soap into bars a frame, containinga horizoutelseries of cutting-wires and a vertical series ofcutting-wires the frame being arranged to movevertically and thenhorizontally, or vice versa, these movements forcing the wires throughthe block of soap, properly disposed for that purpose, and thus dividingand subdividing the same into bars.

This arrangement is objectionable, in that the wires cannot be easilykept taut in the frame, and for other reasons not necessary herein tomention.

In my invention, I employ a series of parallel plates, fixed in acarriage, which is mounted on a bed or frame, said bed being arranged tosupport the soap-containing box in front of the cutter-carriage, whichis arranged in such manner that, by feeding it forward by a feed-screwor other proper mechanism, the blades or cutter-plates are driventhrough the block of soap, suitable stationary strippersbeing combinedwith the bed or frame to retain the soap as the blades are withdrawn.

It is in such an organization that my invention primarily consists.

The drawings represent a machine embodying the invention.

A shows the machine in side elevation.

B is a horizontal section in the plane of the feed-screw. v

a denotes a bed, supporting two strongly-braced uprights, b 0, againstone of which the soap-containing box, d, is supported as seen in thedrawings. edenotes a sliding carriage, moving over a bed-plate,f, andhavinga top plate, g, and bottom plate, It, between and to which isfixed the series of" vertical parallel cutters or blades z, arranged ata distance apart equal to the width of bars into which the soap is to becut.

The width oil the plates 9 h, and their distance apart, are the same,and correspondto the inner dimensions of the box at, which is madesquare in section. The top and bottom plates 3 h are united by a rearplate, 1:, and through this plate the end of a horizontal screw-shaft,1, passes, the plate being secured to the shaft; The thread of thisscrew-shaft works in a nut-thread in the roar upright I said shafthaving on its outer end a crank, m, by rotation of which the screw isfed forward or back, carrying with it the frame of cutter-blades.

In the plane of"tl1c end of the cutter-carriage, (when slid bac k,)betweeneach two blades 2', and on the outer side of each outer bladm isa stationary stripper, 'n, filling the space between adjacent blades, orbetween the outer blade and the plane ofthe side of the outer carriage,each stripper n being fixed upon the ends-of horizontal rods or bars 0,which extend from the upright, 6, through the plate It, to the stripper,the plate It sliding freely upon the several rods 0.

Thebed-plat-efis recess ed or mortised at one end, the recess being of awidth corresponding to the depth of thebox d, and having a stop, 10, onone side, against which the box brings up when slid into the recess.When the box, with the soap moulded therein, is placed in front of thecutter-carriage, the two plates 9 h, and the outeryedges of the outerstrippers 71:, are respectively in line with the four inner sidesurfaces-of the box-.- The box having been thus disposed, thecutter-carriage is fed. forward, causing the two plates gfi to outbetween the soap and the sides of the box in the path of these twoplates, while the blades 2' cut the soap vertically, dividing it into aseries of slabs.

This operation leaves. the soap attached to the box at the two verticalsides orwalls thereof. The carriage is now fed back, and the box isturned quarter round. The carriage is then again'fed forward, and thismovement causes the plates'g Itto cut the soap from the sidewalls, towhich it was left adhering b' the previous oreration, and the blades zsubdivide the slabs into bars or square prisms, of a thickness equal tothe width between the blades, and of a length equal to the depth of thebox. The carriage is now drawn back. In each back movement of thecarriage from the box, the strippers n prevent the soap-from being drawnout tvith the blades, while the friction of the blades upon'the slabsand bars, in this outward movement, tends to start and free the innerendof the bars from adhesion to the bottom of the box;

I am aware that soap and tallow in block-form have been cut by a gang ofknives or wires attached to a movable carriage, but I am not aware thatsoap has ever been divided into bars after being run into boxes, andwithout removal therefrom.

I claim the combination, with a box-supporting frame, of acutter-carriage, provided with a series of parallel cutting-blades, tooperate substantially asdescribed. 7 i

I also claim combining. with the blades 2' the plates 9 h, forsupporting the blades and cutting the soap at the side surfaces of thebox, substantially as described.

I also claim, in combination with the blades 2', the stationarystrippers 12, substantially as set forth.

I also claim cutting soap in boxes by sliding a cutter-carriagesuccessively into the box, the box being changed in position relativelyto the carriage after the first operation of the cutters, the operationfirst cutting the soap into'slabs and from two sides of the box, andthen subdividing the slabs and cutting the soap from the adjacent sidesof .the box, substantially as described.

HORACE SARGENT.

Witnesses:

E. L. PRATT, FRANCIS GOULD.

